Directive 8020 Preview – Where We’re Going, We Won’t Need Eyes to See

Supermassive Games has carved out a name for itself with entertaining horror thrillers featuring wild twists, plenty of gory deaths, meaningful choices, and memorable characters. Directive 8020 marks their shift to sci-fi, and few settings offer more potential for fear than the vastness of space.

I had a chance to play a couple of hours of Directive 8020, and here are my early impressions based on the scattered points in the story where I was dropped in.

Game over, man! Game over!

During the preview, I was dropped into the middle of the game after everything had already gone wrong aboard the Cassiopeia, our space vessel. Instead of making major decisions, I found myself navigating a series of hide-and-seek stealth sections. This is new territory for Supermassive Games. While you have always controlled characters, you were not typically engaged in this kind of direct gameplay. Here, there are hostiles on the ship, and I had to sneak around them to carve out a path to safety.

I have to be honest, this is not what I expected from a Supermassive title. Crawling through vents, hiding behind cover, and waiting for enemy AI to move out of the way is not particularly engaging. It feels like laborious filler, the kind of gameplay I am already tired of seeing in most AAA releases. Thankfully, this segment was brief. I was soon dropped into an earlier chapter where I could make decisions, feel like with near-immediate consequences, and feel more at home.

The premise is straightforward and familiar. Earth is dying, humanity is searching for a new home, your ship has crash-landed, communications are down, and there is an alien onboard that can mimic crew members. It is Alien meets The Thing meets Event Horizon, and Supermassive Games lean into this concept effectively. The characters react convincingly to their circumstances, things keep going wrong, and you are constantly asked to make choices that feel significant.

Visually, this is arguably their most impressive title yet. Character models emote realistically during tense situations and difficult conversations, while the damaged state of the ship naturally splits the crew into smaller groups for exploration. This sets the stage for plenty of scares, supported by a highly detailed environment, dim lighting, numerous vents, and a constantly present antagonistic lifeform. The damaged Cassiopeia is exactly the kind of environment you don’t want to be stuck in.

I leaned into more arrogant and confrontational dialogue choices just to see how things would play out, and Supermassive still has that knack for making you question your decisions. You can now rewind time and change your choices, which is certainly an interesting addition. Personally, it undermines part of the appeal of these games, where you are meant to live with the consequences of your actions. That said, the feature is entirely optional, and I would likely avoid using it on a first playthrough.

Overall, this brief preview gave me a solid sense of the game’s tone, setting, and characters. My impressions are positive when Supermassive Games stick to what they do best: meaningful choices, effective scares, strong presentation, and a diverse cast with distinct motivations. The game stumbles when it tries to mimic more traditional AAA design with stealth-driven sections that do not quite fit. I would much rather see them rely on quick time events than these monotonous segments, which never feel particularly immersive.

Directive 8020 is coming to PC, Xbox Series S|X, and PS5 on May 12, 2026. It’s now available to pre-order across all platforms.